The Eiffel Tower - which is normally open every single day of the year - closed on Tuesday and remained closed on Wednesday as workers protested over an upcoming paint job at the famous Paris landmark which they say risks damaging their health.

The strike comes as Paris is struggling to revive tourism after a string of deadly attacks and a year marred by floods, violent labor protests and polluted air.

The monument's management apologised to visitors stranded at the gates of the tower, lamenting this ill-timed blow to the city's image.

The Eiffel Tower, normally open every day of every year, was closed on Tuesday and remained closed on Wednesday

'The tower is closed until further notice,' the militant CGT union told AFP, saying that workers had voted to continue their protest after being refused a meeting with management on Tuesday.

The dispute is the third in six months to ground visitors who come from across the world to ascend the 324-metre (1,063-foot) 'Iron Lady'.

Unions representing the 300-member workforce have complained of the 'deliberate absence of transparency' by SETE on key decisions relating to the functioning of the monument.

Share this article

CGT spokesman Denis Vavassori said Tuesday the employees were particularly worried about a paint stripping operation planned ahead of a new paint job in 2017.

The operation, which would be 'unprecedented in scale', presented health risks for the staff, he said, complaining of a lack of consultation.

In October, SETE was fined 18,750 euros ($19,931 or £16,000) for failing to protect the employees from exposure to high levels of lead during renovations on the first floor of the lattice colossus in 2012.

'The monument is in an obvious state of disrepair,' Vavassori said.

The strike is the third this year by the staff, who walked off the job twice in June, during the Euro football championship hosted by France.

The Tower saw the number of visitors decline from about seven million in 2015 to an estimated six million this year, and forecasts a corresponding 14 per cent drop in revenue

Those strikes were in protest over labour reforms pushed through parliament by the Socialist government.

The Tower saw the number of visitors decline from about seven million in 2015 to an estimated six million this year, and forecasts a corresponding 14 per cent drop in revenue.

In winter, it receives around 6,000 visitors daily.

Dejected tourists milled about the plaza beneath the tower.

'I come from Mexico and I am here for only two days, only to find out that the Eiffel Tower is closed and I won't be able to go,' said Paolina Herrmann, a 22-year-old from Guadalajara.

Fikriya Akachar, of Rotterdam, rallied her family to come with her to the tower so she could experience it despite her fear of heights.

'We all came here, had some vacation days from work, and then they say no you cannot. I was disappointed,' she said.

But Nicole and Michael Denning, of Sydney, said Paris remains a lovely city for tourists.

'It's still magnificent, so we are happy, very happy,' Nicole Denning said.

'It is magnificent, it does not matter where you go,' Michael Denning said. 'We are pretty happy to be just walking around, enjoying the sights.'